


only you can set my heart on fire

by coupe_de_foudre



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Confessions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Mild Smut, Mutual Pining, Sort Of, Valentine's Day, eugene is soft, no beta we die like men, snafu protects his boy at all costs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:48:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22788220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coupe_de_foudre/pseuds/coupe_de_foudre
Summary: < how bad is it?The reply came through almost instantaneously.>Burgie: remember 09/17?Snafu sat up, elbows propped up on his knees as he growled. That fucker!
Relationships: Merriell "Snafu" Shelton/Eugene Sledge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	only you can set my heart on fire

**Author's Note:**

> This was sent to me as a Valentine's Day prompt on [Tumblr](https://a-beautiful-struggle-of-life.tumblr.com/). Sorry it's quite late! I hope it's what you wanted?
> 
> Enjoy <3

_**> Burgie: fuck snaf, u in??** _

Snafu reached an arm off the couch (where he was currently vegging out watching re-runs of How I Met Your Mother) to pick up his phone at the sound of a message. He sighed, heart dropping as he assumed the worst.

_**< how bad is it?** _

The reply came through almost instantaneously.

_**> Burgie: remember 09/17?** _

Snafu sat up, elbows propped up on his knees as he growled. That _fucker_! If Snafu ever finds out who that guy was...he could do with some new teeth for his necklace. 

_**< fuckin’ hell, kay leave it with me** _

_**> Burgie: take care of him, yeah?** _

_**< what d'ya take me for?** _

_**< thanks tho** _

_**> Burgie: no worries man, let me know how he is** _

_**< sure thing, enjoy ur night I’m sure Flo has stuff planned for ya ;)** _

Dropping his phone to the couch, Snafu stood up and stretched – sighing as his back gave a satisfying click. The anger he felt still resided deep in his gut, but right now Snafu had much more pressing matters.

Like tidying the place up and getting his shit together.

He started rushing around the room in a frenzy, throwing abandoned items of clothing into draws and kicking textbooks and papers under the couch. The bin overflowed with the amount of rubbish he shoved in it, and he made a mental note to take it out tomorrow. He was grateful for Burgie’s agreement to 'spy' on their friend's date; without him, he wouldn't have had time to clean the place up before Gene got back.

Gene...his roommate and best friend. The stupid redhead from Alabama who had been shoved into Snafu's room almost two years ago (after his last roommate left under certain reasons that must not be discussed. The idiotic nerd who smoked a fucking pipe of all things and smiled brighter than the sun and had Snafu wrapped around his little finger without even knowing it. The dumb student that Snafu had fallen so irreversibly in love with.

Only for Gene to not even realise! To go off on Valentine's Day on some blind date – leaving their room all happy smiles and cute shirt tucked into those impossibly tight jeans and...Snafu was getting off track. The point was: Eugene Sledge was a fucking idiot.

And Snafu loved him more than anything in the world.

Which explains the deep rooted anger aimed towards this dickhead that stood his friend up. Snafu remembered last September; how Eugene had come back red-eyed and sniffling and had clung to him all night as he sobbed his heart out. He couldn’t understand why someone would just do that, why he'd been stood up. It took well over a month for Snafu and their mutual friends to convince Gene to go on another date. 

Snafu smiled bitterly at the memory of that particular bastard showing up to class the next day with a black eye and crooked nose. He’d made sure not to let on about the throbbing pain in his hand, and he's certain that to this day Eugene doesn’t know who was responsible for it.

“Snaf?” a weak voice calls out, and Snafu startles. He hadn’t heard the click of the door, turning around to see Eugene stood in the centre of the room looking everything but happy. It broke Snafu's heart.

Taking tentative steps forward, Snafu stopped in front of Eugene. “Hey, ‘s'okay.” he spoke softly, hand twitching at his side with the urge to reach out and touch the other.

Eugene's eyes glared at Snafu, “It's fucking not! That fucking dick didn’t show up and I sat there for an hour, Shelton! How’s that _okay_?” 

Snafu bristled at the use of his surname, Eugene only ever called him Shelton when pissed. The burst of anger wasn't particularly unusual from Eugene, although it wasn't what Snafu had expected tonight.

Undeterred by Eugene's outburst, Snafu placed a reassuring hand on the redhead's shoulder and squeezed. “Alright...it's not okay. It fucking sucks. But it’s happened now ain't it? So how 'bout we chill here tonight?”

Eugene appeared to have a mental battle with himself; his own anger fighting against the urge to just collapse into Snafu's outstretched arms and let out the tears he's been holding back. Snafu rubbed a hand down his arm, stopping as his fingers reached Gene's and lacing them together. Eugene watched the movement, eyes not revealing his reaction. Snafu wondered if he should pull back, if he'd said too much without saying anything at all, but then Eugene squeezed his hand and took a shaky inhale of breath.

“Y'okay?” Snafu murmured, other hand reaching to tuck a loose strand of fiery hair behind Eugene's ear before caressing the side of his face. Eugene leant into the touch and Snafu swears his heart didn’t skip a beat; this isn't some teenage romance movie. 

“Not really...” Eugene relented, dropping his gaze as his face flushed a gorgeous pink. 

Snafu sighed, hand slowly stroking down his face until his index finger and thumb hooked his jaw, gently tilting his head back up to meet his eyes. “C'mon, I’ve got everything planned.” Eugene shot him an inquisitive look but Snafu shook his head, smirk growing on his face as he waggled his finger in front of the other. “Ah, ah, ah, no spoilers.”

“I hate you.” Eugene mumbled as Snafu pulled away completely – suddenly feeling cold and alone. But he could feel Eugene’s eyes on him as he moves around the room, grabbing his friend’s favourite childhood movie as well as his phone – already searching up the nearby pizza place. 

“Love you too, Gene.” he laughed, chucking his phone to the redhead before crouching to out the DVD into their PlayStation. “Order will ya? The usual, you can get whatever ya want. My treat.”

“No, you don’t got-”

Snafu glanced over his shoulder, fixing Eugene with his best glare. “ _My treat_.”

Eugene sighed but the tell-tale smile of his appreciation was on his face as he ordered them dinner. Snafu went back to setting up the movie.

“Done. Should be twenty minutes.”

Snafu nodded, “’Kay. Stay there.” Pointing at the couch, where Eugene was currently sitting, Snafu walked off into the small kitchen (which was basically just enough room for them to have the basic essentials) to grab a pack of beers. He also took the half-eaten bag of Doritos, slinging them under his arm before heading back to the main room. 

“Grab us a blanket?” Eugene asked, voice still kind of shaken up. Snafu carefully picked up the fluffy green blanket left on the floor, dumping it unceremoniously on top of Eugene’s head and smirking at the spluttered sounds of protest that followed. Eugene struggled out from under the blanket as Snafu placed the beers and chips down by their feet. “Fuckin' dick!”

Snafu stuck his tongue out at the other, flopping down besides him on the couch and ignoring how his heart fluttered when Eugene immediately threw half of the blanket over his legs. They were sat pretty close, sides flush together and feet pulled up and tangled in a mess between them. That wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for them, though.

Starting the movie up, Snafu settled deeper into the couch with a sigh – keeping an eye on how Eugene was still tense and worrying his lip between his teeth. He hated seeing his friend upset. It was even worse though if Eugene was trying to act strong.

They didn’t speak for a while, watching the movie in a comfortable silence, until the buzzer went and Snafu was jumping up to grab their pizza before some other fucker stole it. Eugene paused the movie, waiting for him to return no doubt.

He thanked the delivery man, flipping the bird at one of the guys that lived in the room opposite theirs when he complained saying he thought he was gonna get a free pizza. 

“Get your own food, Hoos.” Snafu smirked, balancing the pizza boxes on one hand as he unlocked the door to his room. 

Bill, otherwise known as Hoosier, scoffed but he was smiling. He and Snafu had a funny friendship, full of insults and the occasional punch but they still had one another's back if it came to it. Snafu was thankful to have people like him in his life.

“Whatever. Just keep it down in there, I’m trying to study and I don’t wanna be distracted by you fucking some bird.” 

Snafu's smirk grew as he started pushing his door open, “What makes you think I got a bird in ‘ere?”

Hoosier gave a pointed look to the pizzas in his hand. “That definitely ain't for one.”

“Well, for your information, Gene's in.” Snafu said matter-of-factly.

“My point still stands then.” Hoosier laughed and Snafu scoffed. 

“Shut the fuck up. Tell Lucky I said hi, yeah?” Hoosier blushed at that, looking away for a moment before glaring back at him – albeit more embarrassed at the mention of his fuckbuddy.

“Piss off, Snafu.”

“Have fun!” Snafu sung, stepping into his room and throwing a wink over his shoulder towards Hoosier. “Make sure you use protection!” If Hoosier had anything else to say, Snafu doesn’t know because the door slams shut behind him before he can hear. Smirking to himself, he heads back to the couch where he finds Eugene watching him with an exasperated expression.

“Must you always antagonize our neighbours?”

Snafu chuckled, dropping the pizzas in Eugene’s lap so that he could get comfortable on the couch again. “He deserved it.”

Eugene raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him, but didn’t retort. As he opened the boxes up, a practically sinful sound left his mouth and Snafu held his breath in an attempt not to respond. He swears, Eugene does shit like that on purpose. They tuck into their food whilst it's still hot, resuming the movie. It’s not how Eugene may have been planning to spend his Valentine's night but Snafu hopes it’s not too much of a disappointment.

It’s certainly better than his own original plans.

The credits roll and he's not entirely sure how it happened but Eugene's now curled into his side, face pressed to his neck and Snafu shudders as he feels small breaths ghost over his skin. Leaning over Eugene to grab the remote, the other shifts against him and presses closer making a muffled sound of protest. Snafu chuckles softly, turning the TV off before twisting to look properly at Eugene.

The redhead is blinking tiredly up at him, eyes darting over his face as though he's taking in every detail. Snafu feels his skin tingle at the intense stare, but doesn’t break away. His eyes are red and watery, and Snafu sighs wishing he could cheer the younger boy up. Instead, he cards his fingers through the other's slightly dishevelled locks, marvelling at how soft they feel under his touch.

“Snaf?” Eugene whispers, voice cracking. Breaking out of his mind, Snafu licks his tongue over his lip and looks back to Eugene. He feels on edge, like he could fly or fall within this moment and even a single wrong breath could destroy him.

“Yeah?” he responds in an equally soft tone, hand stilling in Eugene’s hair.

Eugene holds his breath before releasing it in a shaky sigh, hand twitching on Snafu's thigh and he startles, not even noticing it earlier. “Kiss me?” 

In that moment, everything freezes. Time slows and Snafu's mind feels like he's trudging through honey. Did Eugene seriously just say that? Voice so incredibly vulnerable but pleading? Snafu was already a goner...he didn’t stand a chance now did he?

Leaning closer, able to feel Eugene’s breath on his face, Snafu looks for any sign of discomfort on the other's face. Any give away that this isn’t what he wants. But instead, Eugene closes his eyes. Waiting for Snafu to make the next move.

Which he does, hand sliding from Eugene's head to cup his face, heart stopping the moment his lips press against Eugene's. It’s soft and gentle and the warmth from Eugene’s body is comforting in more ways than one. His thumb strokes along Eugene's cheekbone, feeling the traces of dried tears on the skin beneath his touch. Eugene sighs into his mouth, lips parting in an invitation that Snafu can’t possibly refuse. Tongue slipping into Eugene’s mouth, exploring with slow movements and trying to copy it all to memory, Snafu hums in appreciation.

Eugene deepened the kiss, hand coming to rest behind Snafu's neck and tugging at the loose curls there. Snafu moaned, heat flooding down his body as he moved his own hands lower to Eugene’s jaw and pulling him impossibly closer into him. Eugene responded with a deep hum, sucking Snafu's tongue into his mouth and eliciting another moan from him. The transition from a soft kiss to something much more desperate was smooth and Snafu hardly noticed it, mouth moving with more fervour now as he tries to consume every inch of Eugene's mouth against his. This was everything he'd dreamed of for months, and now that it was happening Snafu could hardly hold himself back.

When they eventually broke apart, Eugene looked thoroughly debauched; lips swollen and red, pupils blown wide, hair dishevelled and panting hard. Snafu debated whether he wanted to just stare at Eugene in this state for the rest of the night or rip his clothes off right now. He finally settled on running his hands down Eugene’s sides, smirking at how the light touch made him shiver. 

Eugene collapsed forward into him, both ignoring the pain of their awkward position on the couch, as he nestled his face into the crook of Snafu’s neck and began pressing open-mouthed kisses to the skin there. A needy whine left Snafu's throat and he flushed red, head rolling back against the backrest of the couch to allow Eugene more access. One hand found it's way back into Eugene’s hair, whilst the other trailed up the other's thigh – pressed dangerously close to Snafu's crotch.

Gene shuddered, hot breath fanning over Snafu's skin which had grown hypersensitive after the attention already shown to it. He groaned, the pleasure almost becoming too much.

Either to return the sentiment, or for purely selfish reasons, Snafu leant down to peel back the collar of Eugene’s shirt with his teeth, mouth latching onto the pale skin now exposed there. Sucking a bruising kiss onto Eugene's collarbone, he smirked when the younger one melted under him. Hands sliding up to his chest, palms pushed Eugene down slowly until he was situated on his back with Snafu slotted between the tight space of his thighs. Eugene moaned, hands gripping Snafu's hips tightly – he would definitely wake up tomorrow with finger-shaped marks there.

Ducking down again to bite another bruise onto the glorious pane of untouched skin on Eugene’s throat, the redhead groaned and canted his hips upwards. Snafu moaned into Eugene’s neck, soothing the mark with his tongue. 

“ _Fuck_ , Snaf,” Eugene whined, breath catching in his throat. Snafu growled, kissing up to Eugene's jaw as he grinded down hard to gain some much needed friction. “Shit!”

Sparks of pleasure coursing through him with another roll of his hips. Eugene struggles to find purchase in Snafu's top, giving up to slide fingers down his back and hooking into the belt loops of his jeans. Snafu startles as he's pulled roughly against Eugene, hands losing grip on the couch and collapsing against his chest. Their noses bash together and Snafu laughs when Eugene groans in pain.

“Slow down there, tiger.” he murmurs into Eugene’s ear, teeth grazing against the lobe. “We’ve got all night, no need to rush.”

Eugene sighed, hands pushing the hem of Snafu's top up and warming themselves on the exposed skin of his lower back. Snafu bristled at the cold touch but doesn’t move away.

“You’re a huge tease.” 

Snafu scoffed, “How?”

Eugene fixed him with as stern of a look one can give when turned on to the point of delirium. “Don't act innocent.”

“Hey, I never-” his cries of protest are promptly silenced by Eugene smashing their lips together. Snafu doesn’t argue with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! I actually really enjoyed writing a modern college au for my boys. I'm definitely open to more prompts in the au!
> 
> Love you guys <3


End file.
